The present invention generally relates to a leaflets handling apparatus for handling a wide variety of leaflets such as paper sheets, securities or lotteries certificates, account chits, checks, bills and so forth. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a paper currency reception/delivery machine for an automatic cash transaction apparatus (e.g. automatic teller machines or automatic teller machines used in banking facilities, etc.) through which customers or users can perform monetary transactions by using cards, passbooks or the like.
The conventional automatic teller machine installed, for example, in the banking facilities or the like is comprised of a paper currency reception/delivery port through the medium of which the user deposits or receives paper currencies, a paper currency cassette for setting paper currencies, recycle boxes (also known as denomination boxes) provided in a number corresponding to the number of denominations such as ten-thousand yen, thousand yen, etc., for storing the paper currencies received from the user through the paper currency reception/delivery port and feeding out the paper currencies on a denomination-by-denomination basis, and a paper currency check unit, wherein paper currency transport paths 5 are disposed so as to interconnect these units by way of the paper currency check unit, as is disclosed in JP-A-9-44723 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 44723/1997). Further, there is also known an automatic cash transaction apparatus or automatic teller machine which is comprised of a delivery-destined paper currency storing unit, a received paper currency storing unit, a temporary custody unit and a paper currency reception/delivery port, as disclosed in JP-A-1-163892 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 160892/1989). Additionally, such an automatic cash transaction apparatus is also known in which a paper currency receiving port for receiving the paper currencies placed by a customer for deposit and a paper currency delivering port for delivering the paper currencies for payment are provided separately from each other, wherein a paper currency reception mechanism constituted by the paper currency receiving port, a paper currency check unit for discriminatively identifying or checking the paper currencies and a received paper currency storing unit on one hand and a paper currency delivery mechanism constituted by the paper currency delivering port and a delivery-destined paper currency storing unit on the other hand are disposed in juxtaposition within the automatic cash transaction apparatus such as the automatic teller machine for performing the money deposit/payment transaction (hereinafter also referred to as the monetary transaction).
As the automatic teller machines or the like automatic cash transaction apparatus become more and more popularized, there arises an increasing need for the paper currency reception/delivery machine which can be implemented at low cost in a smaller size and which can ensure facilitated manipulation as well as the functions and the performances of the conventional machines. On the other hand, with regards to the paper currencies to be handled, there exists a demand for the paper currency reception/delivery machine which can handle not only Japanese yen currencies but also foreign paper currencies in view of the facts that monetary transaction with the foreign paper currencies tend to increase not only in Japan but also in other countries.
By the way, the conventional circulation type paper currency reception/delivery machine designed such that the paper currencies as received from the user for deposit are so recycled as to be delivered for payment is comprised of a paper currency reception/delivery port, recycle boxes provided in a number corresponding to that of the denominations to be handled, a paper currency cassette, a paper currency check unit and a paper currency transport path, wherein the paper currency transport path is realized in a much complicated structure or pattern including many branching paths and merging locations arrayed around the paper currency check unit. Thus, the conventional circulation type paper currency reception/delivery machine suffers problems from the standpoint of the size and the manufacturing costs. Further, this sort of machine is generally so designed as to handle those paper currencies which are in common in respect to the length in the widthwise direction corresponding to the currencies transporting direction regardless of difference in the denomination, as in the case of the paper currencies of Japanese yens. Accordingly, in order to allow the paper currency reception/delivery machine to handle the foreign currencies as well, the recycle box, the paper currency cassettes and the paper currency reception/delivery port have to be modified in conformance with the paper currency sizes. Besides, handling of the paper currencies which differ in the length in the widthwise direction may involve degradation in respect to the positional alignment of the paper currencies stacked within the leaflet storing unit, which in turn may lead to occurrence of double-feed event (i.e., two or more sheets of paper currencies are fed out or delivered in superposed state, which will hereinafter also be referred to as the double-ply state), giving rise to a serious problem in respect to the operation of the paper currency reception/delivery machine.
On the other hand, the paper currency reception/delivery machine of non-circulation type in which the paper currency receiving port for receiving the paper currencies for deposit and the paper currency delivering port for delivering the paper currencies for payment are provided separately and in which the paper currency reception mechanism including the paper currency receiving port, the paper currency check unit and the received paper currency storing unit on one hand and the paper currency delivery mechanism which includes the paper currency delivering port and the delivery-destined paper currency storing unit are disposed in juxtaposition is necessarily of a large size when compared with the circulation type paper currency reception/delivery machine, because the former requires the storing space for the paper currencies, the transport path, the paper currency receiving port, the paper currency delivering port and associated members or units, respectively, for both the mechanisms. Additionally, in the case of the paper currency reception/delivery machine of the non-circulation type, the received paper currencies can not be used straightforwardly as the paper currencies to be delivered for payment, giving rise to a problem that the monetary management efficiency (fund management efficiency) becomes lowered.